


What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger, But Something Will Eventually

by Restekel



Category: The Last Kids on Earth (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Character Study, Gen, Scars, Team as Family, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27912598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Restekel/pseuds/Restekel
Summary: Scars Mean You're Stronger than What Tried to Hurt You.A study on the thoughts about scars during the zombie apocalypse.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 26





	What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger, But Something Will Eventually

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by JMLeeds, they've been super supportive and giving me quite a few ideas for this fandom, this is one of them. The summary is actually one of the comments they posted on another story.
> 
> Thanks man!

Scars Mean You're Stronger than What Tried to Hurt You.

Scar /Skär/

noun  
\----  
1\. a mark left on the skin or within body tissue where a wound, burn, or sore has not healed completely and fibrous connective tissue has developed.  
\----  
They all have reminders of the apocalypse etched into their skin, they may become more faint as the days go on, but they will never completely disappear.

Quint has the least amount of scars out of the group, he doesn't get into the major hassles that his other three team mates get into. He's more of the guy in the chair, he makes the gadgets they do they major fighting.

He still has the disfigurations to show his efforts though.

His first scar was when he was alone in his house, his newly zombified babysitter had managed to push him into a scrap piece of wood, scraping his shoulder. Moments later he trapped her in a spare closet. He listened to her wham herself against the door as he patched himself up.

He still has the mark on his arm where the eyeball quill scratched him, he has fond memories of that one -despite the thoughts of others- It reminds him of how his and Jack's friendship can't be broken by a simple monster.

He's got one from when Thrall kidnapped him, he refuses to talk about that one with anybody, he can't let them know how much that ordeal shook him up.

He lost count of the moments and marks after that, experiments blowing up, machinery with sharp edges, can't forget about the monsters and zombies milling about that are always attempting to harm the small group of humans. 

June's count is just a bit higher than Quints, she previously had a few from when she played sports at the school.

She remembers how many times she had to patch herself up in the empty classroom, from a zombie or piece of rubble suddenly coming at her, those nights were lonely, but her survival increased as the days went on.

She's always managed to keep herself relatively safe as the days went on, she's had a few from her own staff, her hands riddled with cuts from losing focus when sharpening the weapon.

Her collar has a slice from when the wormungulous flung them into the department store, the gates metal pole was loose, resulting in it dragging across the bone, she's thankful it wasn't too serious.

She's got a small mark on her face, a tiny reminder of the day they heard the radio voice, but also a reminder of being attacked by the King Wretch at Funland, as the Wretch swung its mighty tail, it seemed fling a rock in her general direction, the speed from the object sliced right into her cheek. It's only noticeable if someone were to look closely.

Jacks tally started high from when he was young. Abusive foster families and being clumsy would do that to a kid.

He became more reckless during the apocalypse, being self-sacrificial wouldn't help the numbers go down. He's kept count of every mark and reason for them... as reminders.

His first few days in the treehouse were lonely, the second time he left he was ambushed by a pack of zombies, he's got a set of claw marks on his arm from when one tried to grab him.

He's thankful that that's all he got away with.

His scar matches Quints from the hairy eyeball, they joke about having twinning scars, the other two get tired of hearing them boast about their unbreakable friendship scars.

He's got multiple smaller lines across the right side of his torso from when Thrall threw him across the forest, rocks and sticks etched themselves into him as he slid across them, the adrenaline from seeing the destructor of worlds made the pain non existent until he got back to the ruined treehouse.

Speaking of the ruined treehouse, his leg has a faint white line from a nail. The piece of metal scraped along him as the fort collapsed, June helped him patch up those battle scars that night.

He checks his wrist daily, the scar is still there from Rezzoch, it worries him that she could still use it to get into his mind again. It's also a reminder of his regret, he's disappointed in himself for even letting her in in the first place, he put his family in danger and made them worry about him. He can't forgive himself for those actions. 

He was surprised the first time he looked at his chest after the whole possession ordeal, the three marks from 'Rovers' claws were still visible, as if they had happened in the real world instead of the dreamscape. His hand moves to the lines every time he's stressed, reminding himself that the fight was real.

The scars he's become littered with represent his fights, they're real, they're tangible. He reminds himself daily that he has them so his friends don't have to.

Dirk has the most scars out of the group, they may not indicate great feats of battle, but the lines represent what he does.

His knuckles are the worst, he's constantly gaining new ones from when his tape rips or moves as he's punching something. 

It could be a wall, or a car, or another monster, but his fists are his weapon of choice. they've been riddled with splinters, cut with screws, nails or spikes.

He's blanked out on how many he has, and how he got them all, none of them hold sentimental value, or regrets, they're just there. They're just apart of him, just another day of survival.

He becomes proud when the monsters explain that scars are on a person for a reason, they show the strength of the person they habit. They show that the person has made it past the obstacle in their way and outlasted the anguish.

The team has survived through thick and thin together, they're scars help them bond, help them share what they've survived through together.  
\----  
2\. a lasting effect of grief, fear, or other emotion left on a person's character by a traumatic experience.  
\----  
The group is no stranger to trauma, they're living through the zombie apocalypse at a young age with three other people. 

Their world had been turned upside down on what was suppose to be a regular day of school for them all.

The mental scars may not be as visible as the physical ones, but they still leave a lasting effect on every human.

June and Quint are constantly worn down by the hunt for their parents that may not even be alive, they both want to believe that they are, and that they'll be with their families again... But sometimes they get into a spiral. The doubts creep in, and the pain of loosing the ones they care about set in.

Dirk attempts to hide his trauma, going with the loner attitude and praying that it would keep his mental state a secret. It doesn't last long after he meets up with the other two boys, but they don't make fun of what he believes is a weakness. 

His claustrophobia stems from being slammed inside lockers when he was younger, he was once the victim of the school bullies. He became the aggressor when he realized it was the only way to make them stop.

Quint wants to forget about Dirk's past as a bully, but those things hit hard, especially being alone for most of the ordeal. Dirk being his friend doesn't make up for all the pain he put him through... but it makes it easier to manage as they're playing ping pong.

Jack's past effects him more than he realizes, his anxiety and abandonment issues show themselves daily.

From the moment that his parents gave up on him he was doomed to have the trauma from it. Each foster family bringing his mental health down more and more.

It was a huge hit when Thrall had shown that he was only using Jack to bring the destruction of the world, he thought he could finally trust an adult figure enough to get close to them... But Thrall was just like every other caretaker he had in his life. His betrayal was enough to make Jack shut out the world, it contaminated every part of his being until he was a shell.

He was only brought out of his funk when he realized he was hurting the others.

When the group found the radio it sparked another longing for a family within him, he became scared that his family would once again leave him for something better. It almost made him sabotage the relationship by his own doing. 

The visions of Rezzoch keep him tossing and turning at night, the fear of her taking over, using him to hurt the people he loved. It haunts him that it could've been his actions that would've destroyed the earth, he wakes from cold sweats at the nightmares of her tendrils around his mind, of the glimpse he got of her in the tree. 

His team mates don't know that he's holding on to them like a life line, a fear to keep him from making another mistake.

They all have scars from the apocalypse, some might be the same, some might be different.

Scars are what makes them human, it brings them together and lets them know that it's alright to have help to heal them.

They wouldn't be who they are without them.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! 
> 
> Whatcha all think? Do you think that Netflix has the balls to give these kids more physical trauma or not?
> 
> Again thank you to JMLeeds for the idea! Hope I did it justice!


End file.
